Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for determining the end to a silent auction using a tiered strategy

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatuses and article of manufactures of an electronic auction system that receives at least one bid to purchase an item that is available for auction during a period of time. The period of time comprises a plurality of time increments. The system also uses a computing device to determine that the auction for the item has ended. The act of determining includes determining that at least one of the following events has occurred: (ii) a first quantity of bids received during a first time increment is less than a first pre-determined number; and (iii) a second quantity of bids received during a second time increment is less than a second pre-determined number. Based on pre-determined criteria, the system also determines a winning bid from a plurality of received bids. In addition, the system transmits to a remote device a notification of the winning bid. The remote device and the computing device are in communication via a network. The system also processes a payment of the item.

This Application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/816,238, filed Apr. 1, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,034, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the field of data processing and,more specifically, to an electronic silent auction system and method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Silent auctions, such as those implemented for charity and fund-raisingevents, typically follow a similar manual format. For example, bidderswrite their names or identification numbers, as well as their bidamounts, to submit bids for each item being auctioned, thereby publiclydisplaying the bids. Each bidder may “outbid” another by manuallywriting his name along with an amount greater than that of the previoushigh bidder. At the end of the silent auction, all bids may be collectedand the winning bidder on each item announced. Such traditionaltechniques usually require bidders to take an active role in monitoringtheir own bids with respect to several items and travel from onelocation to another in order to place additional bids, assuming theyremain interested in bidding on the items available for auction. Inaddition, such methods normally involve substantive paperwork and may beassociated with checkout errors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure provides a system and method for providing an electronicsilent auction. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a firstbid for an item from a first local client, with the item described in acentral repository on a server. A second bid for the item is receivedfrom a second local client, with the second bid being greater than thefirst bid. Each bid is communicated to the server for processing and theserver is operable to determine a winning bid for the item based onpredetermined criteria.

In another embodiment, an electronic silent auctioning system comprisesa first local client, a second local client, and a local network device.The network device is operable to receive one or more unique bids on anitem from each local client the item described in a central repositoryon the server for processing. The server is operable to determine awinning bid for the item based on predetermined criteria and communicatethe received bids to a server.

In a further embodiment, software for providing an electronic silentauction is operable to receive a first bid for an item from a firstclient, through a network device, with the item described in a centralrepository. A second bid is for the item from a second client throughthe network device and the second client is co-located with the firstclient and the network device. The software is further operable toprocess the received bids to determine a winning bid for the item basedat least partially on predetermined criteria.

The invention has several important technical advantages. For example,one advantage of the present invention is that it may provide thewinning bidders with the ability to pay for items won using cash, moneyorder, check or any other recognized form of payment. Alternatively,bidders may proceed to checkout by using the terminals to make immediatepayments using, for example, wire transfer, credit card, or debit card.Accordingly, the present invention may eliminate or substantially reducepaperwork for the host and may minimize checkout errors in silentauctions, while allowing and driving attendees of charity andfundraising events to place and update their bids from the comfort oftheir own seats. Various embodiments of the invention may have none,some, or all of these advantages. Other technical advantages of thepresent invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following descriptions, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example silent auctioning system in accordancewith one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 2 illustrates an example method for providing an electronic silentauction in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an auctioning system 100 forconducting electronic silent auctions. Generally, a silent auction isany charity, fundraising, or other auctioning event where third-partyitems are offered to attendees by a host of the event. Bidders at thesilent auction are typically attendees of the particular auctioningevent. System 100 provides bidders with an electronic bidsheet, locatedat the event, which is associated with the desired item and upon whichthe bidders submit the bids. Auctioning system 100 dynamicallydetermines when the auction is over. Upon completion of the silentauction, system 100 gathers the bidsheets and determines the winners.System 100 then collects money from the winning bidder and assists inproviding the item. Therefore, auctioning system 100 assists the hostand the attendees of the silent auction, as well as the third-parties,by implementing many of the steps of the silent auction.

At a high level, auctioning system 100 is a distributed client/serversystem that allows attendees, typically present at a charity orfund-raising event, represented by location 103, to electronicallypartake in silent auctions that may be held at location 103. System 100may also be a standard computing environment or any other suitableenvironment. For example, system 100 may include a central server 102that is connected, through a local network device 106, such as agateway, to one or more remote terminals or local clients 104 that areaccessed and used by several attendees (or bidders) to form adistributed environment operable to dynamically host a silent auctionfor a plurality of items.

Each attendee may use one of these local clients 104 to enter a bid 140on one or more items being auctioned by entering his name, selecting oneor more items, and entering bid amount(s) on the selected items.Alternatively or in combination, the attendee may enter anidentification number (or some other identifier) or simply swipe a smartcard, credit card, or other identifying card, select the one or moreitems he may wish to bid on, and submit the appropriate number of bidsanonymously. The term “dynamically,” as used herein, generally meansthat certain processing is determined, at least in part, at run-timebased on one or more variables. The term “automatically,” as usedherein, generally means that the appropriate processing is substantiallyperformed by at least part of auctioning system 100. It should beunderstood that “automatically” further contemplates any suitable useror bidder interaction with system 100 without departing from the scopeof this disclosure.

Server 102 comprises any local or remote computer operable to processauction data 118 using silent auction engine 130 and communicablyconnected to at least one client 104 via network device 106. Forexample, server 102 may be a general-purpose personal computer (PC), aMacintosh, a workstation, a Unix-based computer, a server computer, orany other suitable device. FIG. 1 provides merely one example ofcomputers that may be used with the disclosure. For example, althoughFIG. 1 illustrates one server 102 that may be used with the disclosure,system 100 can be implemented using computers other than servers, aswell as a server pool. The present disclosure contemplates computersother than general purpose computers as well as computers withoutconventional operating systems. As used in this document, the term“computer” is intended to encompass a personal computer, workstation,network computer, or any other suitable processing device. Computerserver 102 may be adapted to execute any operating system includingUNIX, Windows, or any other suitable operating system so long as server102 remains communicably connected to client 104. According to oneembodiment, server 102 may be a remote web server. Therefore, server 102may comprise any computer with software and/or hardware in anycombination suitable to present clients 104 with at least a portion ofauction data 118 stored in memory 110 and process bids 140 received fromclients 104.

Memory 110 may include any memory or database module and may take theform of volatile or non-volatile memory including, without limitation,magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), removable media, or any other suitable local or remotememory component. In the illustrated embodiment, memory 110 includes atleast auction data 118, but may also include any other appropriate data,such as user profiles. Memory 110 includes a variety of auction data 118for one or more items and associated bidsheets.

Auction data 118 comprises logical descriptions (or data structures) ofitems and associated bidsheets. Auction data 118 may be stored in anyphysical or logical data storage operable to be defined, processed, orretrieved by externally implemented code. For example, auction data 118may comprise one or more eXtensible Markup Language (XML) tables ordocuments. Item descriptions and bidsheets may be described in terms ofSQL statements or scripts, Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) files,flat files, Btrieve files, or comma-separated-value (CSV) files. Auctiondata 118 may also comprise a plurality of tables or files stored on oneserver 102 or across a plurality of servers 102. Moreover, auction data118 may be local or remote without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure.

Item and bidsheet data structures may comprise separate or collectivetables, objects, or variables. Items being described in auction data 118may be identified by an item identifier, a name, a number, a barcode, orany other suitable unique identifier. Items for silent auction ofteninclude physical objects, trips, rebates or coupons, discounts, vacationpackages, or any other item appropriate for the silent auction. Eachitem, described by the respective data entity, is typically associatedwith one bidsheet.

The bidsheet provides an electronic data structure for storing,prioritizing, and otherwise processing the one or more bids for theassociated item. Each entry in the bidsheet includes at least thebidder's name or other identifier, the item descriptor or other pointerthereto, and the bid amount. The entry may further include any otherappropriate information such as time, IP address, and others. Typically,the current highest bid amount is the current winning bid and, at theend of the silent auction, is used to determine the winning bidder.

Server 102 also includes processor 125. Processor 125 executesinstructions and manipulates data to perform the operations of server102 such as, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). Although FIG.1 illustrates a single processor 125 in server 102, multiple processors125 may be used according to particular needs, and reference toprocessor 125 is meant to include multiple processors 125 whereapplicable. In certain embodiments, processor 125 executes one or moreprocesses associated with silent auction engine 130 to present auctiondata 118 communicated from memory 110 to attendees via clients 104.

Silent auction engine 130 could include any hardware, software,firmware, or combination thereof operable to receive and process auctiondata 118 and present it to the attendee through GUI 116. When loading orconfiguring GUI 116, silent auction engine 130 may first process aconfiguration file, whether local or remote, to determine the initiallayout and user preferences. It will be understood that while silentauction engine 130 is illustrated as a single multi-tasked module, thefeatures and functionality performed by this engine may be performed bymultiple modules such as, for example, a data retrieval module and apresentation engine. Moreover, silent auction engine 130 may comprise achild or sub-module of another software module without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Therefore, silent auction engine 130comprises one or more software modules operable to provide itemdescriptions and process silent bids received from clients 104 throughnetwork 108.

Network 108 facilitates wireless or wireline communication betweencomputer server 102 and any other computer, such as clients 104. Indeed,while illustrated as residing between server 102 and network device 106,network 108 may also reside between network device 106 and clients 104without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In other words,network 108 encompasses any network, networks, or sub-network operableto facilitate communications between clients 104 and server 102. Network108 may communicate, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) packets, FrameRelay frames, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells, voice, video,data, and other suitable information between network addresses. Network108 may include one or more local area networks (LANs), radio accessnetworks (RANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks(WANs), all or a portion of the global computer network known as theInternet, and/or any other communication system or systems at one ormore locations.

Server 102 includes interface 112 for communicating with other computersystems, such as client 104, over network 108 in a client-server orother distributed environment. In certain embodiments, server 102receives user data or bids 140 from network 108 for storage in memory110. Generally, interface 112 comprises logic encoded in software and/orhardware in a suitable combination and operable to communicate withnetwork 108. More specifically, interface 112 may comprise softwaresupporting one or more communications protocols associated withcommunications network 108 or hardware operable to communicate physicalsignals.

Server 102 manages and communicates with at least one network device orgateway 106 via network 108, such as, for example, routers, bridges,hubs, switches, servers, gateway, IP telephones, access control devices,and any other suitable network devices that may be communicably coupledto server 102 and facilitates processing of bids 140 from location 103.Moreover, each network device 106 is communicably coupled to clients 104via a local connection at the fundraising or charity event. This localconnection may comprise any wireless or wireline link using anyappropriate protocol. Accordingly, network device 106 may handle taskssuch as routing, protocol conversions, security, and other suitablefunctions and may also use any suitable encryption, handshakes, logins,and/or other appropriate hardware and/or software protocols. Thisdisclosure contemplates that a local server 102 may include networkdevice 106, while a remote server 102 may be linked to network device106 via network 108. In short, network device 106 is any device forproviding a link from a plurality of co-located clients 104 to server102, whether on or offsite.

Each client 104 is any auctioning terminal or device operable to presentthe attendee with an auctioning interface via a graphical user interface(GUI) 116. At a high level, illustrated client 104 includes at least GUI116 and comprises an electronic computing device operable to receive,transmit, process and store any appropriate data associated with system100. It will be understood that there may be any number of clients 104communicably coupled to server 102, as illustrated by client 104 a andclient 104 b. Further, “client 104”, “user of client 104”, “attendee,”and “bidder” may be used interchangeably as appropriate withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. Moreover, for ease ofillustration, each client is described in terms of being used by onebidder. But this disclosure contemplates that many bidders may use onecomputer to communicate bids on the same item.

Clients 104 are normally co-located at location 103. But it will beunderstood that “co-location” encompasses i) clients 104 physicallylocated near other clients 104 in location 103; or ii) clients 104physically remote but logically located with other clients 104 by beingcommunicably coupled through a single network device 106 (or through aVirtual Private Network (VPN)), so long as the users of clients 104 maybe considered attendees of the silent auction event. Of course, clients104 may be transported, as in the case of a cell phone, to the event bythe host or attendee at any point during the auctioning process.

As used in this disclosure, client 104 is intended to encompass apersonal computer, touch screen terminal, workstation, network computer,kiosk, wireless data port, cell phone, personal data assistant (PDA),one or more processors within these or other devices, or any othersuitable processing device. For example, client 104 may comprise acomputer that includes an input device, such as a keypad, touch screen,mouse, or other device that can accept information, and an output devicethat conveys information associated with the operation of server 102 orclients 104, including digital data, visual information, or GUI 116.Both the input device and output device may include fixed or removablestorage media such as a magnetic computer disk, CD-ROM, or othersuitable media to both receive input from and provide output to users ofclients 104 through the silent auctioning display, namely GUI 116.

GUI 116 comprises a graphical user interface operable to allow the userof client 104 to interface with system 100 to receive one or more setsof auction data. Generally, GUI 116 provides the user of client 104 withan efficient and user-friendly presentation of data provided by auctionsystem 100. GUI 116 may comprise a plurality of customizable frames orviews having interactive fields, pull-down lists, and buttons operatedby the user. The terminals may include screens that may be updated todisplay the current highest bid per item to the attendees, and adaptedto solicit bids from certain attendees or previous bidders. A typicalscreen may be associated with a keypad, or consist of a touch screenthat an attendee may use to enter one or more bids on one or more itemsbeing auctioned. In one embodiment, GUI 116 presents a silent auctiondisplay that presents the various auction data items and receivescommands from the user of client 104 via one of the input devices.Moreover, it should be understood that the term graphical user interfacemay be used in the singular or in the plural to describe one or moregraphical user interfaces and each of the displays of a particulargraphical user interface. Therefore, GUI 116 contemplates any graphicaluser interface, such as a generic web browser, that processesinformation in system 100 and efficiently presents the information tothe attendee. Server 102 can accept data from client 104 via the webbrowser (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) andreturn the appropriate HTML or XML responses using network 108.

Each client 104 may further include or be coupled with othercomplementary devices such as, for example, card reader 122 and/or localmemory for storing local auction data 132, thereby increasing userfriendliness and efficiency while reducing auction downtime and delays.This disclosure contemplates one card reader 122 and/or memory for useby a plurality of clients 104, one individual card reader 122 and/orlocal memory per client 104, no card reader 122 or memory, or anycombination thereof for the plurality of clients.

When used, local auction data 132 stores one or more subsets of centralauction data 118, such as currently auctioned items and associatedbidsheets. Local auction data 132 may receive a copy of auction data 118through network device 106 or from another process running on client104. As appropriate, local auction data 132 may be updated through anyautomatic, dynamic, or manual process operable to retrieve or receiveauction data 118 from memory 110 at any appropriate time. For example,silent auction engine 130 may automatically communicate a copy ofauction data 118 in memory 110 upon initial execution. Further, as withauction data 118, local auction data 132 may be of any suitable formatincluding XML documents, VSAM files, flat files, CSV files, Btrievefiles, relational database tables, and any other format operable tostore at least one subset of auction data 118. In one embodiment, thesubset may comprise one item description and bidsheet, therebyassociating each client 104 with a unique item or bidsheet. It will beunderstood that local auction data 132 may be in a format different frommemory 110 or communicated auction data 118 so long as it is compatiblewith GUI 116.

In one aspect of operation, silent auction engine 130 initiates anelectronic silent auction for one or more items described in auctiondata 118. Once the silent auction begins, clients 104 at location 103offer the item descriptions to attendees at the event. If desired, theattendee submits silent, electronic bids on the items. Silent auctionengine 130 then provides and utilizes a series of protocols, algorithms,and rules that control the auction process and arranges, allocates, andupdates the bids received from the co-located clients 104, as thevarious attendees enter their bids.

For example, engine 130 may alert a bidder that he has been outbid bycommunicating a text message, a telephone call, or any other messagingtechnique and may allow or prompt the attendee to enter a higher bid.Moreover, silent auction engine 130 may end the auction process at apre-determined time, when bidding appears to have stopped in that no newbids have been received for a pre-determined amount of time, or based onany other predetermined criteria. Following the conclusion of theauction, the highest bidders on each of the auctioned items may beannounced, automatically communicated through network device 106, orotherwise relayed to the attendees.

The winning bidders may pay for each item won via cash, money order,check or any other recognized form of payment. Alternatively, eachbidder may proceed to checkout by using clients 104 to make payments onthe spot via, for example, wire transfer, credit card or debit cardusing card reader 122. The present disclosure therefore contemplatessubstantially eliminating paperwork and reducing checkout errors insilent auctions, while allowing attendees of charity and otherfund-raising events to place and update their bids without manualintervention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 200 for providing asilent auction at location 103 in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates method 200, which generallydescribes a silent auction of one of a plurality of items to a group ofco-located clients 104. Of course, any number of items may besequentially or concurrently auctioned within the scope of thisdisclosure. At a high level, method 200 includes initializing system 100for the silent auction, performing the silent auction electronically,and receiving payment for the item once the auction is complete. Thefollowing description focuses on the operation of silent auction engine130 in performing method 200. But system 100 contemplates using anyappropriate combination and arrangement of logical elements implementingsome or all of the described functionality.

Method 200 begins at step 205, where silent auction engine 130 selectsitems for auction at a charity or fundraising event at location 103.Silent auction engine 130 may automatically select these items,dynamically select these items based on predetermined criteria, orselect items based on manual input as appropriate. Next, at step 210,silent auction engine 130 initializes electronic bidsheets associatedwith the selected items. As described above, typically these bidsheetsare logical data structures stored in auction data 118. Initializationof the bidsheets may include zeroing the bidsheet or associating aminimum bid with the item. This minimum bid could be used by silentauction engine 130 to deny any bid 140 that does not meet the minimumamount.

Silent auction engine 130 then initializes connections to one or moreclients 104 through network device 106 at step 215. As described above,network device 106 and clients 104 are typically co-located at anauction event occurring at location 103. In certain embodiments, silentauction engine 130 may communicate at least a portion of auction data118 to connected clients 104 for storage of local auction data 132 atstep 220, thereby improving the performance of system 100.

Silent auction engine 130 then begins an auction of one of the selecteditems at step 225. Silent auction engine 130 may concurrently begin anauction of a plurality of the selected items without departing from thescope of this disclosure. In other words, steps 225 through 290 mayoccur a plurality of times before the auction ends and may be processedin parallel. Further, the auction of the selected item may begin in anyappropriate manner. For example, silent auction engine 130 may enableclients 104 to accept bids on the item from the attendee. In anotherexample, silent auction engine 130 may instruct network device 106 toblock any bid messages 140 from clients 104 until the auction begins.Once the auction begins, then silent auction engine 130 typicallyreceives one or more bids 140 from clients 104 for processing, asdescribed in steps 230 through 290.

According to the illustrated embodiment, attendees at the silent auctionlog onto one or more clients 104 in order to bid on the items. Forexample, at step 230 silent auction engine 130 receives at least anidentifier from first connected client 104 a, but may also receive apassword, a bank account number, an address, or any other suitableinformation. Once the first attendee—now a bidder—is logged in, silentauction engine 130 receives a first bid 140 for this particular itemfrom first connected client 104 at step 235. Next, at step 240, silentauction engine 130 marks this first bid 140 as the current winning bidfor the item. Silent auction engine 130 then associates this winning bidand the associated identifier with this particular item using theelectronic bidsheet stored in auction data 118 at step 245.

At any appropriate time, silent auction engine 130 receives a seconduser identifier from a second connected client 104 at step 250. Asdescribed above, second client 104 may merely comprise a second auctionsession on the same physical computer or device or a second physicalcomputer or device. Further, second connected client 104 may connect toserver 102 prior to first connected client 104, as appropriate. At step255, silent auction engine 130 receives a second bid 140 for the itemfrom the second connected client 104.

At decisional step 260, silent auction engine 130 determines if the newbid is greater than the current winning bid on the item. If the new bidis not greater than the current winning bid, then silent auction engine130 communicates an alert to the appropriate client 104 at step 265 andprocessing proceeds to step 285. Otherwise, if the new bid 140 isgreater than the current winning bid, then silent auction engine 130marks the new bid 140 (in this case the second bid) as the currentwinning bid for the item at step 270. Silent auction engine 130 may alsoautomatically communicate a successful bid message or congratulatorymessage to the currently winning bidder. Next, at step 275, silentauction engine 130 associates the second bid 140 and the appropriateidentifier with the item using the bidsheet. If appropriate, silentauction engine 130 may then communicate an outbid message 150 to client104 associated with the prior current winning bid at step 280.

At decisional step 285, silent auction engine 130 determines if thesilent auction for the particular item is over. This determination maybe accomplished according to any appropriate technique or algorithm. Inone embodiment, the auction may end at a predetermined time such asthree hours after the auction begins. In another embodiment, the auctionmay end when bidding appears to have stopped in that no new bids havebeen received during a range of time. For example, if a particularnumber of bids are not received by network device 106 during a certainamount of time (whether predetermined or dynamically determined), thenbidding is ended. In another embodiment, the determination of the end ofbidding may be according to a tiered system that processes the receivednumber of bids based upon one of a number of time increments. Forexample, the bidding may be ended if network device 106 receives five orless bids during the first twenty minutes, four or less bids during thenext twenty minutes, and three or less bids during any twenty minuterange beyond that. Of course, silent auction engine 130 may use anycombination of the above example techniques to determine the end of thebidding. For example, the bidding may be open for at least one hour andthen the tiered technique may be utilized once the hour is passed. Ifthe auction is not complete, then silent auction engine 130 may continueto receive bids from clients 104 at step 290 and, when appropriate,processing returns to step 260.

Once the silent auction for the item is over, then the item (or the usethereof) is then purchased by the bidder using any appropriatepurchasing technique. For example, silent auction engine 130 mayautomatically process a payment based on the bidder's identifier andcredit card number used at card reader 122. In another example, server102 may communicate a winning message (not shown) to the appropriateclient 104 with a prompt to enter payment. In yet another example, thebidder may manually swipe a credit card through card reader 122communicably coupled to client 104 after receiving notification ofwinning the respective silent auction.

The preceding flowchart and accompanying description illustrate onlyexemplary method 200. System 100 contemplates using any suitabletechnique for performing these and other tasks. Accordingly, many of thesteps in this flowchart may take place simultaneously and/or indifferent orders than as shown. Moreover, system 100 may use methodswith additional steps, fewer steps, and/or different steps, so long asthe methods remain appropriate.

Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certainembodiments and generally associated methods, alterations andpermutations of these embodiments and methods will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of exampleembodiments does not define or constrain this disclosure. Other changes,substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing fromthe spirit and scope of this disclosure.

1. A method comprising: receiving, via a processor, a plurality of bidsfor an item during a silent auction, in which the silent auction is opento receiving bids during a time period that is determined beforecommencement of the silent auction; determining, via the processor, thatthe time period has expired; in response to the time period expiring,triggering, via the processor, a tiered process to determine an end tothe silent auction, in which the tiered process further comprises:determining, via the processor, that a first quantity of bids receivedduring the first time period is less than a first numeric value; inresponse to determining that the first quantity of bids is less than thefirst numeric value, transmitting, via the processor, an indication thatthe silent auction will remain open for a second time a period;determining, via the processor, that a second quantity of bids receivedduring the second time period is less than a second numeric value; inresponse to determining that the second quantity of bids is less thanthe second numeric value, transmitting, via the processor, an indicationthat the silent auction has ended; determining, via the processor basedon the tiered process, that the silent auction has ended; andtransmitting to a remote device a message to a bidder who offered ahighest price at the end of the silent auction, in which the messageindicates to the bidder that he has won the item, in which the remotedevice and the processor are in electronic communication over a network.2. The method of claim 1, in which the second numeric value is less thanthe first numeric value.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:receiving a first bid and a second bid for the item during the secondtime period, in which the second bid is higher than the first bid;transmitting a message to a bidder who submitted the first bid, in whichthe message indicates that the first bid has been outbid.
 4. The methodof claim 3 further comprising: receiving from the bidder who submittedthe first bid an updated bid, in which the updated bid is greater thanthe second bid.
 5. The method of claim 1, in which each of the pluralityof bids is submitted with payment information; and automaticallyprocessing payment for the item using the payment information that wassubmitted by the bidder who offered the highest price.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving a plurality of items for thesilent auction; and automatically selecting, based on at least onecriteria, at least one item from the plurality of items to be sold atthe silent auction, in which the at least one criteria is determinedbefore commencement of the silent auction.
 7. The method of claim 6, inwhich at least one of the plurality of items fails to meet the at leastone criteria.
 8. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory, inwhich the memory stores instructions which, when executed by theprocessor, direct the processor to: receive a plurality of bids for anitem during a silent auction, in which the silent auction is open toreceiving bids during a time period that is determined beforecommencement of the silent auction; determine that the time period hasexpired; in response to the time period expiring, trigger a tieredprocess to determine an end to the silent auction, in which the tieredprocess further comprises: determining that a first quantity of bidsthat received during the first time period is less than a first numericvalue; in response to determining that the first quantity of bids isless than the first numeric value, transmitting an indication that thesilent auction will remain open for a second time a period; determiningthat a second quantity of bids received during the second time period isless than a second numeric value; in response to determining that thesecond quantity of bids is less than the second numeric value,transmitting an indication that the silent auction has ended; determine,based on the tiered process, that the silent auction has ended; andtransmit a message to a bidder who offered a highest price at the end ofthe silent auction, in which the message indicates to the bidder that hehas won the item.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the secondnumeric value is less than the first numeric value.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 8, in which the memory further store instructions which, whenexecuted by the processor, direct the processor to perform: receive afirst bid and a second bid for the item during the second time period,in which the second bid is higher than the first bid; transmit a messageto a bidder who submitted the first bid, in which the message indicatesthat the first bid has been outbid.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, inwhich the memory further store instructions which, when executed by theprocessor, direct the processor to: receive from the bidder whosubmitted the first bid an updated bid, in which the updated bid isgreater than the second bid.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, in which eachof the plurality of bids is submitted with payment information; and inwhich the memory further stores instructions which, when executed by theprocessor, direct the processor to: automatically process payment forthe item using the payment information that was submitted by the bidderwho offered the highest price.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8, in whichthe memory further store instructions which, when executed by theprocessor, direct the processor to: receive a plurality of items for thesilent auction; and automatically select, based on at least one criteriathat is determined before commencement of the silent auction, at leastone item from the plurality of items to be sold at the silent auction.14. The apparatus of claim 13, in which at least one of the plurality ofitems fails to meet the at least one criteria.
 15. An article ofmanufacture comprising: a computer-readable storage medium, in which thecomputer-readable storage medium is non-transitory and storesinstructions which, when executed by a processor, direct the processorto: receive a plurality of bids for an item during a silent auction, inwhich the silent auction is open to receiving bids during a time periodthat is determined before commencement of the silent auction; determinethat the time period has expired; in response to the time periodexpiring, trigger a tiered process to determine an end to the silentauction, in which the tiered process further comprises: determining thata first quantity of bids that received during the first time period isless than a first numeric value; in response to determining that thefirst quantity of bids is less than the first numeric value,transmitting an indication that the silent auction will remain open fora second time a period; determining that a second quantity of bidsreceived during the second time period is less than a second numericvalue; in response to determining that the second quantity of bids isless than the second numeric value, transmitting an indication that thesilent auction has ended; determine, based on the tiered process, thatthe silent auction has ended; and transmit a message to a bidder whooffered a highest price at the end of the silent auction, in which themessage indicates to the bidder that he has won the item.